I'll Be There, 'Till The End
by Solo-Player
Summary: What if instead of Asuna and Kirito parting ways, they stayed together in and formed a guild? AU. Rated T to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

So this is my first fanfiction. I hope you guys enjoy it. The beginning of this chapter follows the anime. But I assure you, the end of this chapter is not cannon. So hope you enjoy!

**DISCLAIMER**: Sword Art Online belongs to Reki Kawahara and Aniplex. So not mine!

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Finally. They had done it.

Both Asuna and Kirito had bested the first boss, Illfang the Kobolds Lord, they had received many cheers from the players.

But, as always, one person had a problem with this. In Kirito's case, it was Kibaou.

"Why did you let Diabel die?" He asked Kirito.

"Excuse me?" Kirito asked.

"You knew the technique the boss used! If you told us about that up front, he wouldn't have died!" Kibaou's voice was thick with emotion.

This elicited mutters and whispers from the crowd.

"He must be a beta tester!" One person yelled. "That's how he knew all the boss's attack patterns!"

This only caused more trouble to stir.

"Other beta testers are here too! Show yourself!" An accusing finger was pointed at the whole crowd.

People began to uneasily glance at each other.

"This is bad..." Kirito thought. "At this rate..." He didn't want to think about what would happen if they turned on each other.

He had to... To take the blame. For Diabel.

The black haired teen gulped.

"Hey, come on!" Agil tried to persuade the crowd that beta testers were fine.

A laugh came out of nowhere.

Was it who they thought it could be?

The crowd opened way for the mysterious player.

"A beta tester?" Kirito asked after getting up.

"I wish you wouldn't compare me to those newbies.

"W-what?!" Kibaou stuttered out.

"Most of those thousand beta testers were beginners. They didn't even know how to level up." Kirito began to explain.

Kirito praised them then. "You guys are better than they are." His back hair was covering his eyes.

He suddenly stopped. "But I'm not like them."

"I made it to floors higher than any of them ever had."

"The reason I knew the boss's skills..." Kirito began. "...was because I faced monsters with higher katana skills then them."

"I know a lot more. Way more than any information broker."

They let this settle in.

"That's... That's cheating!" Kibaou yelled.

"A beta tester and a cheater... That's a beater!"

"A beater..." The stormy eyed male pondered. "I like it."

"That's right. I am a beater." Kirito selected his Coat of Midnight.

Kirito made his way through the crowd.

Asuna ran after him.

"Wait!" The chestnut haired female called after him.

The black haired male stopped.

"You used my first name in the battle." Asuna said.

"Sorry for using it. Or did I mess up the pronunciation?"

Kirito pointed to the HP gauge and Asuna saw his name.

"Ki...ri...to..." She began. "Kiri..to..? Kirito?" She finished.

"So that's your name. But... What are you going to do?" Suddenly Asuna felt sad. She didn't was to leave this boy. He was... Kind, smart, and handsome...

Kirito didn't respond but went to dissolve the party.

Asuna ran up and stopped Kirito's hand before he dissolved the party.

"I still want to party with you... Kirito-kun..." He heard from behind him.

The stormy eyed boy stopped and felt his cheeks heat up.

Kirito...kun..?

Was that her new name for him?

"I... uh... alright..." Kirito said to Asuna.

He closed the menu screen.

"Come on... Asuna-chan..."

The honey eyed girl blushed too.

Kirito walked toward the final door.

"You coming?" He asked turning around to face the girl.

"Yeah." Asuna ran after him as the door closed.

The duo walked outside as the door closed with a clunk.

"Sooo... now what?" Kirito asked.

Asuna pondered this. "Well..." She began slowly. "I guess we can level up and then join the front lines..."

It sounded like a plan.

Kirito thought about the best spots to train. He did a whole lot of that anyway.

"Well..." He began opening up his virtual map. "We could start off here," he pointed toward the upper right corner. "The location has decent monsters to farm experience from. Besides," Kirito smiled at Asuna. "...the drops are good enough that we wouldn't have to buy anything from the shops for a while."

Asuna was genuinely impressed. Kirito really knew his VMMORPG's.

"It seems like a good plan. Thank you Kirito-kun," she beamed at the former solo player.

Kirito felt the heat rise to his cheeks. "I-it's nothing, Asuna-chan."

But Asuna soon became serious. "We still need a name for our guild."

"A-a guild...?" Kirito was truly confused now. He didn't think that she was actually serious about staying with him. Then he smiled. He wasn't alone.

"It sounds like a plan."

* * *

Well, I hope I didn't write badly. It is only my first fanfiction. But I'm a bit uncertain. If you guys want me to continue this story I will. Otherwise, well I'm not sure. So thank you guys anyway! I hope you all enjoy.


	2. Chapter 2

Here is the second chapter of the story! Enjoy.

**DISCLAIMER: **Sword Art Online is owned by Reki Kawahara and Aniplex. So I don't own it in short!

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Both Kirito and Asuna were at an inn. And very surprised too actually.

"Here's to us, the Moonlit Black Cats!" The guild leader, Keita called out.

He yelled, "Cheers!" Putting his metallic goblet up and the drink inside sloshing a bit.

"And here's to the guild, the Aligned Stars for saving us!" Keita yelled.

"Cheers!" The whole guild yelled.

"Cheers…" Kirito and Asuna said a bit uneasily.

The following moment, they were both showered in thank you's and gratifying comments.

"Thank you," the whole guild said to them all.

A young girl with blue hair looked at them with a gratifying look.

"I was so scared…" She commented.

Asuna went to assure the girl that everything was fine. They would always gladly help.

Keita whispered to Kirito about how it was amazing he was a solo player.

"I know it's rude to ask, but what level are you?" The guild leader asked the stormy eyed male.

"Around level 20." Kirito said, blatantly lying.

"Oh… It's pretty amazing that you and Asuna-san are a two man guild, but managed to get so far," Keita praised.

Kirito felt a bit embarrassed but thanked the maroon haired individual.

Asuna settled back into her seat next to Kirito.

She gently elbowed the former solo player.

"Kirito-kun."

"Hm?" The boy looked in her general direction.

"Why don't we help them a bit? It seems that Sachi, the blue haired girl, may need some help." Asuna motioned toward the girl who was conversing with Tetsuo, Sasamaru, Ducker, and Keita.

Kirito thought about this. While it wasn't too convenient to help the other guild, it did help clear this game. And they would level at it too.

"Alright." He reluctantly agreed.

"Great!" Asuna clasped her hands together and went to tell the Moonlit Black Cats the new news.

"Guys!" The chestnut haired girl stood up from her seat. The whole guild looked at her.

"Kirito-kun and I have decided something. We want to fight alongside all of you! Maybe we could learn something from each other!" The honey eyed girl was cheerful. Her aura was very infectious as it made the other members happy.

"Thank you so much Asuna-san!" They all said simultaneously.

Asuna just beamed at the guild.

"They'll slow us down…" Kirito mumbled, but was secretly happy.

So together both guilds trained together a lot. Sachi was able to get better at shielding and attacking due to Kirito's tips.

"You have to block the monster, then look for an opening and stab," Kirito demonstrated with Sachi's shield.

"And if you can't then block the monster's attacks and have Tetsuo come in and stab the monster's weakness." Kirito looked at Asuna and softly smiled as he remembered how they did that to Illfang.

She, in turn, returned the smile, fond of the memories.

**TIME SKIP: Thursday, December 25****th****.**

It was a happy time for most people. But not for Kirito and Asuna.

They had both seen their friends all mercilessly slaughtered in a trap. They were the only ones to survive.

But Kirito knew a rumor about a tree which was rumored to give an item to revive a player.

"I know… that tree…" Kirito said, sadness thick in his voice.

"Oh Kirito-kun…" Asuna said softly and hugged the young teen.

She gently stroked his hair as he went into her embrace.

"It'll be alright…" Yet Asuna sounded uncertain of herself.

Kirito abruptly got up almost knocking Asuna over.

"Watch where you're-!" She began but got cut off.

"Let's find the tree… I know where it is," Kirito began to walk off.

Asuna ran after him.

Their boots made marks in the soft snow.

Then Kirito saw someone he hadn't seen in a bit.

It was Klein and his guild, Fuurinkazan.

"Hey Kirito and wow that's a hot girl you've got!" Klein yelled bowing down to her.

"My name is Klein and I'm si-" He got cut off by a sharp jab by Kirito.

"Come on Asuna. Let's go," Kirito began to walk.

He was cut off by Klein coming in front of him protesting.

"What was that fo-" However at that moment many people teleported.

It was the Divine Dragon Alliance. One of the best guilds in the game. Next to the Knights of The Blood Oath.

Klein gritted his teeth.

"These guys always come here for a rare item if they catch wind of it. We'll handle them Kirito and hot girl!" Klein yelled.

"Thanks Klein…" Kirito felt a great gratitude for his friend as he lead Asuna into where Nicholas The Renegade was.

As they made their way to the fir tree, they saw a huge figure fall from the sky, with an ugly, turquoise blue face appear.

It had four full health bars and a red mark as if it were a PKer with Nicholas The Renegade over it.

"Let's do this, Asuna!" Kirito said, his battle instincts taking over.

She curtly nodded to her parter.

They both rushed toward the monster in hopes of an opening.

The monster looked confused at them both and just decided to knock them both to the ground.

He swept his hand and hit Asuna to the ground while Kirito dodged.

"Asuna!" The stormy eyed male yelled worriedly.

She smiled at him to confirm that she was okay.

He went over to her and examined her.

"Are you okay?" He asked out of breath.

"K-Kirito-kun…" She said, her health bar decreasing at an alarming rate.

"No!" Kirito quickly pulled a health potion out of his inventory and had her drink it.

Immediately, Asuna's health increased.

He felt an immense feeling of relief wash over him.

Now… to kill that bastard.

He picked up Asuna's sword, Lambent Light as it was called, and held both his and her sword in his hand.

Running very fast at the monster he went after it.

Faster. He could go faster.

Faster.

Faster…

Faster!

He yelled and sliced right through the twisted boss of Santa Clause, killing it.

_CONGRADULATIONS!_

A screen was presented to him like that.

It said he also received the Divine Stone of Returning Soul.

He ran over to Asuna, carrying her in his hands.

First he had a problem to deal with.

But eagerly he checked the stone and saw that you could only revive a player ten seconds after their death.

His face fell as he went to the portal that lead back to the town.

Kirito saw Klein and his guild panting tiredly on the floor.

"Did you do it?!" He excitedly asked his friend.

He tossed the item to Klein.

A shock was on the red haired player's face.

"You can only revive someone ten seconds after their death. Maybe you can use it."

Kirito stalked away with a passed out Asuna in his hands, boots leaving a print in the snow.

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Well what did you guys think? Hope you guys enjoyed. Hopefully you guys review! Thank you guys for reading.


	3. Chapter 3

Thirteen reviews in about three days! Thank you guys so much! Anyway, here's chapter three. I would like to respond to everyone who reviewed, and I'm grateful to all of you for reviewing. So here goes:

**Lord Halcyon:** Thank you. (:

**Toa Solaric: **I hope so too.

**lowcrawler: **I will! :D

**shadowmacer66: **Alright!

**Moonsoul121: **Yeah. It seems since too many mobs spawned and killed them all. After all, the Moonlit Black Cats were not under leveled, just swarmed is all. But thank you too!

**Worker72: **I will be getting to that. But I'm not sure if they are yet, since in the canon, Asuna is invited to the Knights of The Blood because she's great. Since they don't know about her yet. And also, they may have had an agreement to keep from telling them. I'm only an amateur writer, but thank you for reviewing and the constructive criticism!

**Sonochu: **I will take all of your information into account! Thank you so much! I will change it up a bit so it differs from the anime. And thank you for the tips. I use them as well as possible.

**Dragon of Chaos: **I'm glad you enjoyed it! And I will.

**Guest: **Yeah, I understand how you feel. I hate it when fics are abandoned in the middle. Some of the concepts are interesting! I'll try to continue this to the best of my abilities.

Anyway, here's the disclaimer.

**DISCLAIMER: **Sword Art Online is owned by Reki Kawahara and Aniplex. (Do I have to do this every chapter? ): )

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"What?" a girl asked in a teasing voice. "You've got that lizard to heal you," her voice suddenly changed into a mean one.

She was obviously greedy as she said, "You don't need any healing crystals."

Then was shown a little girl's face. She had brown hair with pigtails and a dragon on her head.

"What about you?" she spat out. "You never fight from the front. So do you really need crystals?"

"Of course I do." There was shown a tall girl with red hair and a seductive face.

"I'm not a child idol like you, Silica-chan," she said calmly, not caring about the other girl's insults. "So boys won't heal me."

Silica's face went into a sort of defiant pout.

One of the boys on the side line tried to intervene.

"H-hey… Come on you guys…" he began but was cut off.

"Fine!" Silica opened up her menu and went to dissolve the party. "I don't need the items. I won't be partying with you anymore. There are plenty of parties that want me." She put a hand on her chest and then promptly walked away.

"Wait, Silica-chan!" a boy called out.

The girl was now lost, and fighting apes.

Yeah, this was NOT a good day.

As she stood her ground, dagger in hand, her dragon, Pina, had healed her.

Sadly, she only restored a sliver of health.

Now, the apes began to approach Silica.

She checked her pocket and realized something.

Her face contorted into one of worry as she realized, "I don't have any healing items!"

She then got smacked with one of the ape's wooden sticks and went flying toward a tree.

Her dagger landed a good three feet away from her.

Her health depleted into the red zone.

She worriedly looked around for it and was about to get hit by the ape's wooden stick.

Then Pina took the blow for her.

The blue dragon fell onto the ground, only a sliver of health left with it.

The apes then went to finish the blue dragon off, but were suddenly killed from behind.

The two mysterious figures shrouded in black appeared.

They handed the young dragon tamer two health crystals.

Silica used one on herself, and the other on Pina, just barely saving it.

"Thank you so much for saving Pina and I!" she was grateful towards her two saviors.

One of them, a girl with chestnut hair stepped out of the shadows.

"It was our pleasure! After all," she shot a look to her guild partner. "Kirito-kun and I would gladly help others in need."

"Yeah," Kirito nodded.

**TIME SKIP: Floor 35, Mische**

"I can't seem to thank you guys enough!" Silica said in her childishly innocent voice. "If you guys didn't come to save Pina and I…" she trailed off sadly.

Kirito smiled at the girl. "It's alright Silica. It's good that we were at least there."

Asuna nodded. "Don't look at the bad side!" she smiled sweetly toward the young girl. "Just be happy that Pina and you are alive!"

Silica nodded. Suddenly she bumped into a figure.

She looked up and saw… She gasped at who she saw.

"R-Rosalia!" she nearly screamed.

Kirito and Asuna looked at each other. This was the PKer who killed their client's guild.

"Well hello there, Silica-chan," the red-head said in her suave voice. "It's nice to see you."

Silica pouted angrily. Why couldn't this girl just leave her alone?

"I see you managed to keep that lizard alive. Tell me, how exactly did you keep it alive?"

Kirito and Asuna intervened at this point.

"We helped her," Kirito said smiling.

Rosalia looked up to face the black haired teen. "I see that she managed to seduce another boy."

Kirito inwardly rolled his eyes. He'd faced cyber bullies like Rosalia a lot on MMO's. But instead, he still smiled at her.

"Come on, let's go Silica-chan, Kirito-kun," Asuna said while walking away with her guild member and new friend.

Rosalia smirked. This would be fun.

**TIME SKIP: Floor 45 Blyte**

Silica had just killed one monster, but was panting heavily.

Just how did those two grind this often?

Asuna looked at her. "It's tough, but keep trying. I'll even help you."

Asuna showed the dragon tamer what to do. However, before she could try it, Kirito yelled.

"Stop. Whoever you are, come on out," he called out.

The two girls turned around to see someone come out from the shadows.

Spear in hand, it turned out to be… Rosalia?

"Very clever of you." She began clapping. "I didn't know anyone could detect me."

Kirito turned to Asuna, ignoring the PKer's words. She nodded.

They raced at Rosalia together with their swords forming an X.

Rosalia jumped back and snapped her fingers. "Come out people!"

Roughly eleven people came out from behind the other trees laughing and smirking. They were heavily outnumbered. Only three people to twelve. What a joke of a mission!

"Stand back, Silica," Kirito yelled as they continued to race toward Rosalia.

The red-head was truly worried. She thought the two would have given up by now, but they were still racing full speed ahead.

Asuna and Kirito slammed into the other players, and sent them flying, passed out onto the floor.

Nine of them were left standing. They went for the players, not realizing the trap.

They were slashed on their abdomen, their health depleting into the yellow zone.

The players muttered curses, but were then paralyzed as Kirito and Asuna used an item on them.

Rosalia took a step back as if to run, but Kirito and Asuna formed an X around her neck. If she moved, she'd die.

"What do you want…?" she gasped out weakly.

"We know you're a PKer, Rosalia," Kirito began. "You apparently slaughtered an entire guild with your other members. The leader of the guild, and the only survivor, would do anything to get you jailed." Kirito held up an item that looked like an enlarged healing crystal. "Our client spent all his money on this."

Rosalia tried one more tactic. "You'll be yellow if you commit a crime against-"

"Shut up," Asuna growled. "It doesn't matter to us whether or not we're yellow for a few days. We're not a prestigious guild after all."

And after that, Rosalia and her members were all promptly teleported to jail.

Silica was in awe from the fight the two put up. They were truly amazing.

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So there's chapter three! I'm trying to make all my chapters at least one thousand words long. Hopefully they get better and longer. Thank you all for reading and reviewing and following and favoriting. Goodbye for now!


	4. Chapter 4

Kirito hated meetings.

No, to hell with that word. He DESPISED meetings. They just were pointless. Especially when nobody could agree on anything, or speak up. It was especially worse since Asuna was not with him. She would've taught every spineless person here a lesson. He smiled in the thought of that.

"I say we send Squads C and D to take on the head monster! Then we have Squad A flank it!" yelled out a female voice while slamming her hand on a table.

Kirito broke out of his daydream and sighed. It was her and it had to be her.

The Knight of The Blood Oath's second-in-Command.

Kirito didn't know how to describe her. Loud, arrogant, spoiled definitely. Once she'd almost killed a person over not obeying to her whims.

Now everybody was too afraid to speak up. The ex-soloplayer sighed.

"No objections? Alright then," she smirked and looked down on the people in the meeting room.

Kirito raised his hand. "Excuse me, Akane-san." The red-haired female turned her head to face him. "This isn't right. You're basically saying to use Squads C and D as cannon fodder. Do you understand the risk you're taking and the amount of people you could kill?"

She intently stared at him, and then started laughing. It was a loud and booming one. She finally stopped and wiped a tear from her eye.

"Are you really going to lecture me about risks and killing others? Weren't you the Beater and the one who left everyone by themselves?" she pointed an accusing finger at him.

Everybody began to look at Kirito and realized she was right. His old coat was no longer there, but it was him. The same hair and eyes.

"That may be true," he said, keeping his voice calm. "However I've changed. And I don't go around trying to kill other people."

He mentioned the time when she almost killed somebody.

"I'm not a complete control freak, Akane-san. Yes, keeping things orderly are well. So are making plans for that matter. However, risking the lives of hundreds of people? Potentially even thousands? This is what Kayaba Akihiko wants us to do. Kill each other off." Kirito concluded by slamming his hand on the table.

"What would you do about it? You're just in a guild that nobody cares about. I'm a second-in-Command of the biggest guild in SAO!" she laughed.

"I suggest you revise your plan." he stared at her directly in the eye.

She countered, "Why, you're my inspiration, though! Leaving people for dead without giving them tips on how to beat the game!"

Kirito looked down at the ground. Why did she have a counter argument for every argument he presented? She must've been the Devil's Advocate around where she lived (for those that don't know what a Devil's Advocate is, it's a person who presents a counter argument for everything you say. They don't actually listen to what you say. They just counter it).

"I'll talk to your boss about this, then. We'll see if he approves of this plan or not."

She smirked. "Go ahead. You have my blessings."

He walked out of the room and pulled out a teleport crystal.

"55th floor, Granzam!" he yelled.

Blue encompassed him as he yelled the command. The light left and he saw a bustling population of people. Since it was hot this time of year, the city wasn't as cold as it normally was.

He began to walk over to the base of the Commander, Heathcliff. Entering through the steel doors, two guards stopped him. "Who goes there?" one asked.

"I am here to see Heathcliff, your Commander," he replied.

The other guard spoke up. "You can't see the Commander now, as he's busy, but we can try and put a word in for you." The guards towered over Kirito, trying to look menacing.

A person stepped out of the building. He had a huge shield and was very muscular.

"It's alright, gentlemen. Let him in," the man spoke.

The guards saluted. "Yes sir Commander!"

Kirito was awed. So this was the Commander. He definitely had an air of authority to him. No wonder why even the guards were scared of him.

He bowed to him. "I ask for a meeting with you, Commander Heathcliff."

The Commander invited him in. "Be my guest."

Kirito was walking up the stairs to his office. This building was definitely a grand one. There were many windows overlooking on the top floors. It was a steel-gray sort of color here.

The duo had finally arrived at his office. Heathcliff took a seat in his chair.

"Sit down Kirito," he motioned to the chair across from his desk.

"I'm alright, thank you."

The Commander nodded and began talking. "So what is so important you had to see me about?"

Kirito cut straight to the point. "Your second-in-command. Her plans are a bit… Sacrificial. It requires the death of quite a few people."

Heathcliff sighed. "I know Akane-san can be a bit… Demanding. However she was the best candidate for second-in-command. She's a great fighter, can line up everybody into discipline, and not afraid to say what she needs."

"That's the problem," Kirito said. "She is risking the lives of others and is having them obey her every whim. She almost killed a man!"

The Commander sighed. "If that's how you feel, why not challenge her?"

"I'm not interested in this position."

Heathcliff laughed, "She's already going to stay until the game ends. No, what I mean is, why don't you challenge her to a duel?"

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**So what will Kirito do now? Will he accept the offer, or reject it. More importantly, who is this Akane person I randomly chucked in. I'll give you guys a hint. She may seem like she's an OC, however she's not. I don't mean she's in the anime or manga. Just… you'll see.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry for the long hiatus. I got a bit of writer's block. Anyway, I do not own SAO! Hope you enjoy.**

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Kirito had to resist the urge of slamming his hands on the Guild Master's desk by tightly clenching his fists. His knuckles turned white by the amount of pressure he was exerting on his hands.

"What purpose would a duel serve?" The teen tried to keep his voice level and calm. This woman sacrificed the lives of many people who, in real life, had died. Yet this, dare he say, pompous bastard wanted him to duel her? Did he really not care for the sake of others?

Heathcliff gave the Beater a smile as if to taunt him. "Give her terms, of course. If you win, she has to adjust her tactics. If she wins, however... You will find yourself in a guild."

Kirito gritted his teeth together. While the request was completely fair, he was still irked. Not by the request, no. He was irked by this man's demeanor. His attitude towards human life. Did he truly not care at all?

"Fine," the black clad teen practically yelled. "A duel it is!"

"Very well. I'll convey the message to Akane. When will this duel be held?" the guild leader inquired.

"Tomorrow." Kirito spat out the word like it was the most vile thing and stormed out of the office, stomping on the oak floors.

Healthcliff looked out of the window. "This will be interesting. kane versus Kirito. She is stronger than when I'd first met her. She practically jumped on the offer of joining the clan after I had..." he shook his head. No matter. One, if not the, finest player in SAO versus his lieutenant. This would definitely be interesting.

Meanwhile, after pushing past several guild members and the previous guards who had harassed him, Kirito had teleported to his and Asuna's house.

"I'm home," he mumbled to nobody in particular.

He was greeted by Asuna's cheerful face. "Welcome back!" She was overjoyed to see her boyfriend's face again.

However, she noticed the black haired teen's somber expression.

"Kirito, what's wrong?" An innocent question, to be sure. However she did not understand the stress her significant other had just gone through. That question was a puzzle in itself. What did he feel?

Instead of answering the question in his mind, Kirito ignored both the chestnut haired girl's question and his subconscious. Asuna, however, persisted and followed him to their shared room.

The Beater just flopped on his bed as if to say, leave me alone.

Asuna sat down next to him and gently pulled him up.

"Kirito, honey, what's wrong?" The girl affectionately rubbed his cheek with her thumb.

The boy practically melted in her soothing touch and nearly spilled everything. However he instead looked downward and replied, "Nothing."

Asuna gently held on to his chin and tilted it up so he looked at her. "Talk to me, Kirito, please. You know I'm there for you." This was enough for all of Kirito's mental energy to run out and for all his emotions to pour out.

He hugged the girl clad in a yellow sweater next to him and tightly held on. The black haired teen asked her only one thing: "Asuna, promise me you'll never leave me. I love you so much," the boy asked in between tears.

"Of course. You know I'll Neve leave you. We began this journey together, and we'll end it together."

Kirito looked up and made his decision. In the real world, he'd find Asuna. He'd find her, and would always cherish her.

The solo player then looked up at her, intertwined their fingers, and gave her a very soothing and gentle kiss. One that promised a love that would last for a lifetime.

* * *

**Sorry if it was a bit short. My writing is a bit rusty.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Since I've suddenly got an urge to write after leaving this story on a temporary hiatus, I've decided to, well, write more. This chapter will be the duel between Akane &amp; Kirito. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own SAO.**

* * *

Kirito woke up the next morning feeling a bit disoriented. Then it all came back to him. He had spoken to Heathcliff about something... Something important.

Kirito realized it was the duel. He was a bit worried because, based on what he'd heard, Heathcliff himself had taught Akane.

Then the worry had truly set in. It was a lurching in the pit of his stomach.

Not only would this duel be tough, it would determine whether or not he'd be bind to a guild and its rules, but also the change in tactics. If, Kirito pondered, he were to lose this duel, then he would have to be apart of Akane's tactics.

"I can't let that happen," he told himself with a resolve of steel. "I can't let Akane throw people's lives away."

The Beater slowly stretched and swing his two legs over bed. Smiling slightly, he realized that what he had felt was not fear. But a true excitement. He lived for the adventure.

Scrolling through his inventory, the teen changed into his usual ensemble of a black v-neck shirt, black coat, and his black pants. To top it all off, he equipped the Elucidator. He felt confident all ready.

Walking into the dining room, he spotted his significant other sitting at their couch, reading a book on cooking. She was wearing her full gear. It was a plain white shirt with a burgundy tunic over it and some white pants with burgundy stripes. She had, of course, her signature sword the Lambent Light. "Good morning, Asuna," the black haired male said with a gentle smile.

The chestnut haired girl looked up at him and smiled a bright and dazzling smile. "Good morning, Kirito. I see you're ready for the duel," she noted.

"Yeah," he said with an air of calmness that only he could manage. "I'm definitely ready."

"That's good to hear. I also made some breakfast for you. It's on the table." Asuna motioned to the mahogany table on the right.

"That's great to hear, but Asuna... We need to talk." The Beater's voice took on a more serious tone.

The female looked up at the ex-solo player. "What is it?"

"If I do lose this duel, we will have to disband the guild. Heathcliff stated," Kirito faltered. "Heathcliff stated I had to join the Knights of The Blood Oath of I were to lose the duel."

"I'll just join you-" Asuna began.

"No," Kirito said with a bit more force than intended. "I don't want you to participate in their... their tactics of using people as cannon fodder. I couldn't ever forgive myself if you had to face that."

Asuna abruptly stood up. "I'm not some damsel in distress, Kirito. You don't have to worry. I only want to be with you. It won't be that bad."

Kirito smiled. Some things never changed. "If you say so." In all honestly, the teen was glad that his significant other had decided to join him. Without her, it might have been a living hell anyway.

"Well, we should be off. C'mon Asuna." The talk had left him feeling better than before.

Asuna followed outside of their house where Kirito pulled out a crystal that would transport him and Asuna to the location. "55th Floor, Granzam!"

A shimmering blue light appeared around him as he teleported to the colosseum-like place where only the biggest field took place. He could see the gamblers placing bets on who would win.

It seemed that Heathcliff was the referee. "Hardly fair," Kirito muttered.

"Good luck, Kirito." Asuna gave the male a light peck on the cheek and rushed off into the sitting area where the rest of the crowd was.

Kirito nodded. A loud voice, however, broke him out of his thoughts.

"Are you ready, Beater?" the taunting voice of Akane called out to him.

"You bet I am!" Kirito yelled with an aggressiveness and air of confidence, that even some of the KoB members even believed him.

"Bring it!" Akane yelled, smirking.

"The duel between Kirito and Akane... Begins now!" The booming voice of Heathcliff called out.

The two rushed at each other.

* * *

**Sorry for the cliffhanger guys! Next time, the duel begins between Kirito and the mysterious Akane. Who will be victorious in the end?**


	7. Hiatus

**For everybody who loved this story, I'm so sorry.**

**I'm not going to be deleting it, or discontinuing it.**

**It's just, I need to take step back and rewrite this story. **

**I haven't seen an anime series or episode in a year and a half.**

**When I look back, I see that I can do much, much better. **

**So bear with me while I edit this.**

**There will, hopefully, be many changes. No promises, however.**

**Thank you to everybody who reviewed or read this message.**


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